Ribbans salutes Saints team-mate Ratuniyarawa

Ratuniyarawa has become a staple feature of the Saints side in recent weeks, with his fine performances earning him a fresh contract at Franklin's Gardens.

The Fijian started alongside Christian Day last weekend, helping to secure a 25-17 Aviva Premiership home victory against London Irish.

And Ribbans, who came off the bench to replace Day in that game, said: "Api has just been on fire in the last few weeks.

"He's going really well and he's always had that quality.

"He just needed that game time and he's now settled in the team and showing how good he is.

"He's a quality player."

Ratuniyarawa and Ribbans will hope to help Saints secure a long-awaited win at Sandy Park this Saturday.

The black, green and gold have not beaten Exeter Chiefs at the champions' ground since February 2014.

And Ribbans said: "It's obviously going to be a tough game because they're a good side, especially at home.

"We've had a few good training sessions, it's been tough with the boys training hard, and hopefully we can take a bit of momentum into Saturday.

"We showed a lot of character last weekend and we want to take that into Exeter.

"We've looked at their past couple of games and what teams have done to get the victories against them.

"But we've also focused on what we need to do and we're looking forward to it."